Early Childhood Respiratory Infections: How Many Is A Lot?

Investigators from Finland conducted a prospective cohort study to characterize the clinical manifestations, early risk factors, and outcomes of children ≤2 years old with recurrent respiratory infections. Parents of newborns were recruited soon after birth to participate. Enrolled parents were instructed to keep daily diaries of respiratory symptoms of their child until age 2 years; parents also recorded physician visits with diagnoses and treatment, as well as absences of the child from daycare or the parent from work. Demographic information was collected at enrollment and updated at the child’s age of 13, 18, and 24 months. Enrolled parents also brought their child to 2 study visits at 13 and 24 months, at which point they had nasal swab specimens collected for viral analyses. A subgroup of enrolled parents followed a more intensive follow-up schedule, with parents instructed to bring their child in for a study visit whenever their child was symptomatic with respiratory symptoms, at which time they received nasal swab collection and an examination by a physician. Data on hospitalizations of children in this subgroup were obtained from electronic registries. The primary exposure variable was respiratory infection defined as presence of nasal discharge, nasal congestion, or cough (with or without fever or wheezing), or by physician diagnosis (eg, acute otitis media [AOM], wheezing illness, pneumonia, laryngitis, or pharyngitis). Diagnoses or recorded symptoms withi...
Source: AAP Grand Rounds - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: General Pediatrics Source Type: research